Islamic Center of Irving
Coordinates: 32°50′36″N 97°00′38″W / 32.8432°N 97.0106°W
The Islamic Center of Irving was established and registered as a non-profit 501(c) organization in 1991 in Irving, Texas, USA.
Purpose
Irving is located in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. It is estimated that there are 100,000 Muslims in DFW Metroplex. The center's goal is to serve the Muslim population by providing a Mosque, which is a place to pray, and an Islamic school. It also provides Islamic activities to strengthen the Islamic community ties socially and religiously.
History
The idea of establishing an Islamic center originated in the early 1980s when a group of Muslim brothers started praying the five daily and the Juma'a (Friday) prayers together in one of their own houses. Soon they had to move to a bigger place, from one apartment to another until they were able to rent an apartment and use it as a Mosque where they performed all their prayers. The number of people praying continued to increase which required them to find a bigger place. In 1990, the brothers rented a house that could accommodate about 75 people to use as the Mosque.
Not too long afterwards, the number of people praying exceeded 75, some of the brothers had to pray outside the house. A school for the children was held each weekend but had to close down eight months later because the place was not suitable for studying.
For many years the group had to move from one place to another, renting halls for the Friday prayers as the number of the people praying reached between 200 and 300 men and there was no place for women. Not to mention that Muslim brothers were prevented from praying in some of the halls.
Current building
The new building on 2555 N Esters Road is fully functional and it has regular 5 times prayer in the new masjid. It can accommodate about 2500 worshipers for the weekly Jummah prayer in 2 sessions. It also supports Islamic School, Sunday and Summer School, Marriage Services, Funeral Services, Quranic and Arabic Teachings etc.